


Falling

by Erikapell



Category: Draco and Hermione, Dramione - Fandom, Harry Potter - Fandom, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Draco Malfoy - Freeform, F/M, Harry Potter - Freeform, POV Draco Malfoy, draco and hermione - Freeform, dramione - Freeform, hermione granger - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:14:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,089
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26655007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erikapell/pseuds/Erikapell
Summary: She’s defeated Lord Voldemort, saved all Death Eaters from execution and had her face plastered on every magazine cover in the Wizarding world for the past three years. He’s been in hiding, not from anyone in particular, just the white hot guilt of his less than poor choices. He knows she’s beautiful now, she always has been. beyond  his hateful views of her kind and the image of her broken body writhing on his manor floor he’s never seen her as anything less than beautiful. She saved his family and he owes her his life, its a shame she won’t just take it. He’ll do just about anything to prove that he’s changed but what will happen when he finds out he’s not the only one looking for something.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy & Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Draco and Hermione - Relationship, Harry Potter/Ginny Weasley, Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy
Comments: 6
Kudos: 24





	1. Chapter 1

She’s always loved fall, it seemed to suit her in a way no other season has. Maybe it’s the quiet way it tends to slip through the summer and ease its way into the air, unassuming and calm. Her mother had always said she had autumn eyes, warm and soft like melted chocolate on something even sweeter. 

Her mother was like that. Always a compliment disguised in a poem, never a harsh word or even the tiniest semblance of disappointment . She was kind and accepting and Hermione hoped, even though her mother would never remember her, not after the war, that she would still make her mother proud. It was a foolish thought, dangerously close to painful but still she missed her parents, her tiny home and her bedroom, she missed her cat and her book collection. She missed it all. 

There were maroon leaves decorating the ground outside of her cottage and while she knew she was going to have to rake them eventually, for now they were nothing less than beautiful, coloring her front porch and shining with morning mist. She was going to be heading to Askaban today and the tiny bit of color and light was something she hoped she could hold onto while in the dark musty prison. She’d been there a few times in the past couple of months, and it never did seem to get better.

The war had ended nearly three years ago, Voldemort was long dead and any remaining death eaters were sentenced to prolonged sentences in Askaban, something Hermione had fought for tooth and nail in the courts. The ministry wanted all of them executed for treason but she couldn’t have allowed that to happen, she had seen first hand the kind of power Voldemort had and had she been a weaker person she too may have felt obliged to follow his commands. Now however, she was required to visit once a month to see to it that they weren’t being tortured within the prison, an obligation the ministry had so kindly endowed to her. 

Ron had never forgiven her for her part in freeing the death eaters from execution. Whatever could have been between the two of them had vanished the day she had walked the man who killed Fred Weasley into Askaban. The guilt nearly tore her apart and it took Molly Weasley barging through her door and dropping onto the couch beside her to snap her out of it.

“Now then girl, I loved my son. He was a good man, didn’t deserve to die, he didn’t. But he did. With honor, with dignity and with his brother beside him.” She clapped a hand over Hermiones shaking one, tears piled in the corner of the older woman’s eyes “you’re doing the right thing love, everyone is some mothers child. No one else needs to die, not because of that beast of a monster.” 

Hermione had sobbed into her surrogate mothers arms, she was so tired and her heart was so heavy with decisions she just couldn’t seem to make. And god was she lonely. 

“There, there love. You’re going to be just fine. Ron’s a right case but you needn’t worry about him. Let’s get you something to eat then, you’re thin as a rail. I brought pumpkin juice!” 

Ginny came around a few weeks later, much to the urging of Harry, who had never stopped being her best friend. The youngest Weasley had even come to Askaban a few times for moral support, she was a good friend, a wonderful wonderful friend. 

The wind from her kitchen window blew her curls forwards and into her eyes, her hair was the only thing she retained from her youth. Her olive skin was smooth of blemishes and her lanky body had grown into traceable curves. While her curls were still more than a little unmanageable they had grown to be quite a large piece of her personality, little girls would run up to her in Diagon alley desperate to touch it. Harry had called it “the hair that lived”

She was every bit a celebrity in the Wizarding world now, 1/3 of the golden trio. The kids who had killed Voldemort. it felt like decades ago and she had prayed for the fanfare to die down but still she woke up every morning to her picture in the magazines and some new degrading headline about “the princess of the war” 

Slipping into a soft green sweater and pair of jeans she waved her wand carelessly at the locks around the house before slipping a scarf around her neck and apparating to  
Askaban. It was fairly cold out and even though she was within the walls of the prison before she could blink she still had to shake the cold from her bones and she passed by the guards stalking the halls. 

“Miss Granger.” They smiled warmly, tipping their hats to the frequent visitor.

“Hello guys, anything different today?” She reached into her pocket and handed the gum out to the men in front of her, a sort of routine she had established when she had caught them staring at the package In her hands. A muggle treat they were more than happy to take. 

“Not much out of the ordinary mam, Theodore Nott tried to sneak in three pies for his mother but that’s about it.”  
The tallest of the guards shrugged, rolling his eyes.

“He tried to sneak pie... how on earth did he..?” Her eyebrows shot up and a smiled threatened to rip free.

“Don’t ask.” A dark skinned guard with beautiful teeth sighed. 

She shot them an apologetic smile and made her way to the cells, scanning as she went. 

“Oh! Miss Granger, I forgot to mention that cell 343 has a visitor. And it’s not his wife.” The handsome guard from before called out. 

343 was the final cell on the block, “not his wife?” She mumbled. There was no way he was having an affair, he had seemed solely dedicated to his wife. It had been her idea to allow the visits, most prisoners of Askaban had never received visits but she felt as thought it was all a part of the rehabilitation process. Let them see what they’re missing at home and they’ll work harder to get back there. She had hoped she hadn’t made a mistake.

By the time she got to cell 343 her palms were sweating and her neck was tense, she didn’t want to fight with a prisoner but she would have to set him straight if he was cheating on the woman who came here every week precisely on time to visit him and stayed until forced out. 

The guard manning the outside of the cell nodded his head towards her and unlocked the cage. She took a deep breath and sighed 

“Lucious Malfoy, please do not tell me you’re cheating on...” 

Her words caught in her throat when a familiar pair of silver stone eyes whipped around and caught her own. 

Platinum blonde hair, curly and free from styling product bounced on his head as his jaw dropped revealing those perfect white teeth. 

“well miss granger I surely hope you weren’t implying I was cheating on my wife. Three years in her and you still don’t trust me.. what a shame young lady.. it’s merely my son, Draco dont be rude say hello to miss...”

“Hermione Granger.” Draco whispered in awe, his pale cheeks flushed pink. 

“Draco Malfoy,” she returned. “Funny seeing you here.”


	2. Chapter 2

The cell is damp and cold and the subtle ticking of Luscious Malfoys fingernails on the cool steel table in the center of the room is the only audible sound in the small room. Draco's eyes are all but glued to her face, it makes her squirm and she can practically feel the way he seems to be counting every freckle on her nose. He looks good, different for sure, but good. His typically gelled down blonde hair was longer now and curly, something she had noticed briefly during the battle when it was sweaty and pressed against his forehead recklessly. His waves were now just below his ears and hanging close to his eyes, his skin was as pale as she remembered but like her he had lost the lanky figure of their childhood. He filled out the long sleeved black shirt and jeans he wore. Muggle clothes, a dark contrast to the enchanted suits and robes he was never seen without. Narcissa had mentioned that he was working with mythical creatures now during one of their meetings, she had seemed so proud of her only son and it surely seemed to suit him. His sleeves were tight against his lean muscles and she had to look away quickly before he caught her staring. 

Lucius cleared his throat and chuckled "I feel as though I should say something." 

Hermione swallowed the lump in her throat and shook her head "No, no I'm so sorry for barging in like this. i was just checking in on everything and when I heard you had a visitor, I didn't think.." she trailed off, nodding towards Draco who still had yet to say a word. 

"Oh don't apologize dear. Narcissa will be positively giddy when she hears about you charging in here to defend her honor." Lucius chuckled that deep throaty laugh she had come to enjoy. 

She cringed and rested against the door frame "Perhaps we won't tell her about this particular incident?" she tried. 

Draco snorted and Hermione's eyes flicked toward him "My father keep something from my mother? impossible." 

Lucius glanced between the awkward pair "yes well, when you've been through what me and your mother have you tend to find secrets tedious." 

Draco stood then marching to Hermione and standing in front of her, he was much taller than her so she had to crane her head a bit to keep their eyes level. His hands were fidgeting by his side and she watched as he took a shaky breath before he spoke again, that same confident swagger that always seemed to drip off of him, this time however it felt a little subdued " Hermione Granger, you've grown up." his eyes fell to her exposed shoulder, her sweater had fallen and she quickly pulled it back up. 

"Well I can say the same for you Malfoy, nice jeans." she raised a brow. 

Draco glanced down, his eyes sparkling as he wiggled his brows and grinned "thanks, very roomy." 

she nodded, her face serious " yes I'm sure there's lots of room in there." 

Draco's eyes widened and a wicked smirk covered his features. "cheeky little thing." 

Lucius cleared his throat again, Hermione had completely forgotten he was there "Oh Lucius I.." she started 

"if you two brats could take this discussion elsewhere, I'm suddenly very tired." he yawned for emphasis and Hermione could practically see him smile behind his hand.

"Oh of course, I'll head out then and let you two finish your visit." she turned quickly to leave but Lucius' voice stopped her abruptly. " Hermione, if you don't mind walking my son out of Askaban, I would hate for him to get lost and you practically own this place." Draco opened his mouth to object but Lucius cut him off " thankyou dear. I won't be long." 

she nodded wordlessly and slid out of the cell, pressing her back into the cold brick. It had been three years since she'd seen Draco Malfoy. He'd been the one to surprise her most, his decision to switch sides had come as a surprise to everyone and she could still picture his face contorting in agony when his mothers soft voice had called his name and he had chosen to stay put. He was another reminder of what had happened that terrible night. it was something she desperately tried not to think about for fear it would rip her apart entirely. They were all coping in their own ways, Harry was building a family with Ginny and working as the newest professor of Dark arts at Hogwarts, Luna had married Neville and they had just welcomed their first child, they both owned a pub on Diagon Alley, Ron was growing more and more popular on the Quidditch front. And as for herself? well she wrote, book after book after book, anything she could remember. She changed the names and the locations of course but anyone who had been there, anyone who had witnessed it knew exactly what her books were about. They were always best sellers even in the muggle world, she'd named that after the person who had saved them all of course. The Harry Potter series had brought in more money than she knew what to do with but still, she couldn't write it down enough to get it out of her head. 

"daydreaming? how very Granger of you."

Hermione's eyes snapped open to find Draco leaning down and peering into her face and smiling.

"shove it Malfoy." she rolled her eyes smiling. how strange it was to have a human conversation with the boy who had tried to defeat her just a few years ago. "Let's get you out of here, I wouldn't want to lose your fathers favorite son." 

Draco chuckled " I'm his only son." 

"Exactly." she grinned. why did it feel so easy to speak to him? surely she should be uncomfortable. They were never friends. 

it was quiet for a bit, comfortable silence in the never ending halls of Askaban. it was unheard of."I read your most recent novel, I really enjoyed that Ferret character, he seemed like a right ass." Draco broke the quiet, and Hermione winced at his words. OF course he would recognize himself in her stories, she practically wrote his quotes to the T. 

"He's a bit of a prat isn't he?" she chuckled "I'm sorry." she glanced up at him, 

"sorry? for what exactly? you went easy on me, you could have clearly painted me in a very different light. I appreciate it, it makes your books a little easier to read." he offered. 

She nodded, he was right, she hadn't put nearly everything he had said to her and her friends " I didn't think you would read them, You up and dissapeared. I would have thought you died had your mother not mentioned you a million times." 

"yes, you and my mother have become friends of a sort haven't you? she mentions you every time I see her. How beautiful and wonderful that young Granger girl is, how she absolutely saved the Malfoys and put wonderful marks for the muggles."   
Draco raised a brow, " I never would have expected that." 

"She's a woman who loved a man and loved her family, she made mistakes but don't we all? there's no reason to ostracize her from the entire world. I feel no malice for anyone anymore. life is too short." she shrugged. 

"That's the truth, life is incredibly short." his voice was far away, a hollowing emptiness in his eyes. He stopped at the door to Askaban and reached for Hermiones shoulders, spinning her towards him "you should hate me." he whispered " I want you to hate me. You should hate my family, we're worms. We tried to destroy you , to destroy everything you loved. I brought death eaters to Hogwarts, I told Voldemort everything about everyone of you. I watched Bellatrix torture you and I did nothing." she pulled away at that, rubbing her forearm with her fingers, he knew what was under there, the white and pink "Mudblood" scar burned into her flesh. " you have to hate me, please Granger. Tell me you hate me." he begged, tears pooling at the corners of his eyes. 

Hermione stumbled back and pulled her wand from her pocket, Draco straightened up and closed his eyes, his shoulders slumping with relief. He thought she was going to kill him? he thought he was going to die and he was relieved? she shook her head " I don't hate you Draco, I never could." 

And she was gone.


	3. Chapter 3

His home was cold and damp, it was fairly empty save for his bed and a few pieces of furniture his mother had sent for years ago. It was dull and lifeless, and nestled for away from anyone and anything, he’d chosen the one bedroom townhouse for that specific reason. He spent most of his time at work anyway so being here wasn’t something he particularly prioritized. Today however he could feel the lonely, stale air settling in his walls, it was enough to send him directly to his bedroom away from the gloomy living room that haunted him with its dark aura. 

He’d made an absolute fool of himself in front of Hermione Granger. He had cried like the pathetic sod he was and she had looked at him with so much pity he wanted to choke. He had tortured her when they were kids, brutally so in fact and yet there she was standing before him laughing at his jokes and telling him she forgave him, that she could never hate him. 

And god was she still the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. She was smart and strong and willful, that had always stayed the same, the papers were right about her being the brightest witch of her age, she was miraculous but her beauty? Gods, she grew more beautiful every time he saw her face flash across a magazine cover, in person it was a whole different type of beautiful. 

In Hogwarts it was forbidden for him to notice her wayward curls and the way they would swing across her collarbone when she got especially excited, he wasn’t allowed to watch her button nose scrunch up when she was particularly displeased, and he definitely couldn’t admire the way her chocolate eyes would shine when a teacher finally picked her for whatever she knew the answer too. He was a Malfoy, they didn’t associate with off breed witches, but now the Malfoy name meant as much as the dirt beneath his boots and he could notice everything about the beautiful woman she had grown into. 

He could watch her slender fingers wrap around her wand and notice the way her nails were painted an incredibly subtle pink. He could enjoy how smooth and soft her skin looked when the sun hit at just the right hour. He could take in the smell of her strawberry and honey shampoo that seemed to waft off of her in doses. He could notice just about everything he wanted to about Hermione Granger and no one could say a damn thing about it. 

Except now she would absolutely never be speaking to him again, that much he was certain. He had scared her off, he wasn’t right in the head these days, to be honest he hadn’t been since the day the war had ended. His mother and father were worried, they had every right to be and while he adored his mother, it was hard to look his father in the eye no matter how much Lucius Malfoy had changed. 

He had changed, they all had. Hermione Granger was mainly responsible for the shift in opinion, when she had chosen to save all of the death eaters from execution Draco had seen the way his mother went from disgust to admiration to guilt to gratitude to peace. Lucius took a bit more time but apparently with hermione coming to visit every month she had quickly won his father over with her quick wit and spunk. The Malfoy family was all head over heels for Hermione Granger, not like He hadn’t been since the first day he saw that bushy head of hair march over to him with her head held high and Her confidence even higher. 

He was a product of his environment then, all he wanted to do was please his father and that had manifested into the sniveling bully he was famous for being. But now? Now he was a grown man, a damaged, lonely man but grown nonetheless and he worked for the mythical beasts and he took care of them, trained them. Hagrid had been the one to get him the job and the giant had been so kind after everything he had done to him that he had spent the entire first day crying in the unicorn stables. He really had turned into quite the childish baby these days. 

It was time to grow up. 

Hermione was a woman, A successful, beautiful Strong woman with a life and a future and to truly move on with his life he would have to prove to her that he had changed. He would have to make things right with her, for everything he had done. 

There was still Draco in him, he knew that much was true. He was still an asshole, not a bully or cruel but his personality would always be just a bit different from Weasley and Potter, he was never going to be Hogwarts golden boy and maybe that was okay. He had to find himself, figure out who he was now without his father in his ear, without Voldemort and prejudice and war looming over his head. He had to get back in to the world, to leave his home and go places. 

And maybe Hermione would come with him? 

Probably not but it was a nice thought. 

She was the most popular witch to walk the streets of Diagon Alley he was fairly certain she wouldn’t want to be seen with Askabans favorite death eaters son. That wouldn’t help book sales he was sure. 

Her books.

They were phenomenal, every piece was beautifully written, it felt like it was his story as well. It was Harry’s story and Rons, nevilles and Luna’s , cedrics and Crab and Goyles. It was all of their stories combined and it was forever on pages too small to fit all of it. But it was enough, enough to remind him of what he had overcome

What she had overcome. 

And god was that a lot. 

He was going to start a new chapter, Tomorrow was a new day and he was going to show Hermione Granger just who Draco Malfoy really is. 

He just had to figure it out first.


	4. Chapter 4

It was cold today, the autumn chill whipping wayward branches against her window. A storm was coming, dark gray clouds loomed over her tiny cottage and the whistling of the wind was enough indication that her windows would stay closed today. Hermione settled onto her couch and cupped the warm mug of tea in her hands, bringing the steamy drink to her nose and inhaling the peppermint and honey that came along with it. She'd loved storms since she was a baby, they soothed her in a way nothing else could these days. Flipping through the far too large novel in her lap she couldn't help her mind from wandering to the events of yesterday afternoon, Draco and his rare display of desperate emotion. what had he wanted from her? It didn't seem like he wanted her forgiveness, he almost seemed as though he wanted her to hurt him? 

She didn't need to add Draco Malfoy to the list of people she had hurt, thank you very much.

He'd been horrible to her when they were children, a foolish bully with far too much responsibility to a man who took and took and never gave. He was just a boy then, a sad, lonely little boy who had been fed so many lies there was no way he could distinguish the truth from fiction. It hadn't been his fault, not at the end, he was doing what he had too to survive, just like she had. The lives she'd taken to save her friends and her family still lived within her every day and she knew they would remain forever. If things had been different, if his father hadn't poisoned him with his ideas of social hierarchy, if his mother had ever had a say in the upbringing of her son, maybe they could have been friends. Draco was so smart, so ridiculously clever and talented, he had challenged her in every course and she'd seen how hard he worked. Not to mention the obvious attraction she felt towards him, he'd always been somewhat cute however clouded with her pure disdain for his terrible attitude, she did understand the girls obsession with him and his blue green eyes and white blonde hair. He'd only gotten more attractive as the years went on, growing into his tall lean figure and allowing his hair to be free from the far too tight slicked back look it, unlike Ron who was constantly moving frantically and over excited, Draco was slow and calculated always planned and confident. She had no idea who Draco Malfoy was now, how the war had affected him and who he had turned into. The war had settled her, she had quieted down and no longer felt the need to push and push and push until the world noticed her, they did enough of that without her help. Yesterday he had seemed different, he was still quite cocky and that boyish smirk was ever present on his handsome face. The bags on his eyes had been there since the war but gone were the suits and hair gel, replaced by t shirts and jeans and curls that suited him much better.

The cottage filled with the sugary sweet smell of chocolate and the oven timer beeped, knocking her out of her own thoughts as she rushed to the kitchen. Muggle appliances were fairly amazing actually. Enough of Draco Malfoy, there was a book begging to be finished on her couch and an entire tray of brownies waiting for her.   
*******  
It was nearly eight o clock when her door bell rang, waking her from her nap and nearly giving her a heart attack, she pressed her hand to her chest and smoothed her hair down from the wild mess it had become. Who on earth could be at her house this late at night? there was a spell at her front gate that restricted any and all reporters and paparazzi from entering past her front gate. Harry was in Australia with Ginny for Thanksgiving break and Molly was supposed to be stopping by tommorow evening, Luna was too pregnant to move and Neville had dropped off plants for her front porch just yesterday. Clutching her wand in her fist she slowly made her way to the front door and swung it open to reveal an absolutely drenched Draco standing on her porch holding crushed daisies, there were leaves in his blonde hair and his leather jacket was dripping onto his jeans. 

What the hell? 

"what are you doing?" Hermione gaped, wiping the mist from her cheek as Draco stood there blankly 

"enjoying the weather what about you?" he monotoned. 

"what?" 

"For heavens sake love, invite me inside." he flung his arm out, petals from the flowers flinging everywhere. 

Hermione bit down the smile that was threatening to break, he looked absolutely ridiculous and she couldn't stop the laugh that spilled from her lips and Draco's eyes widened, his lips quirking into his own smile.

"I don't know what you're laughing at! you look like you've been electrocuted." he pointed to her wild curls that were twisted every which way and sticking to the side of her face from her nap on the couch. Her hands flew to her head and she gasped, the laughter spilling out of her now mixing with his own, she moved aside to let him in and giggled when he shoved her playfully and shook his hair out like a dog. Draco turned to her as the door closed and pulled his wand out,

"I was going to do this the entirely muggle way but it appears that magic once again overcome." he smirked, pointing his wand at the flowers and restoring them into a gorgeous bouquet of fresh daisies, handing them to her and bowing " for the lady." 

"what are you doing here Draco?" Hermione sniffed the flowers and sighed, placing them on her kitchen island she propped her hands on her hips, very Hermione Granger circa first year at Hogwarts. 

Draco ignored her blatantly, spinning around and running his fingers over the book cases lining her walls " Your place is nice, really nice. It smells amazing in here too, its nothing like my flat. I makes me want to up and move into my own little cottage." he turned around and wiggled his brows at her. Hermione sighed again "Draco I asked..."

He cut her off " Not that I ever would. I'm a Malfoy and you know as well as I do our decor is more dark and broody rather than..." he picked up a candle and sniffed it "cinnamon apple." he nodded appreciatively before heading for her kitchen. 

"Draco. you cant just come over with flowers and start exploring my home. Is this about yesterday?"

Draco stiffened and turned back towards her " I would rather not talk about yesterday actually." he wasn't smiling anymore. he sighed " I'm an asshole, I make people uncomfortable that's what I do. I've been out of practice with interacting with actual humans for a while and if yesterday was any indication , I'm still the same as I was at Hogwarts when it comes to making people not want to be around me." he shrugged.

"everyone wanted to be around you Draco." Hermione countered. 

"everyone wanted to be around me because I made their lives miserable if they didn't." 

He wasn't wrong but Hermione bit her tongue and allowed him to continue.

"I don't think that's me though. I don't know who I am but I want to find out and I need you." he whispered. 

She did absolutely every thing she could to not let those two words affect her but she couldn't help the pink blush that rose to her cheeks or the way her breathing stalled for just the quickest moment. she knew he didn't mean it like that but still 

his eyebrow raised, and he took a step closer to her, his eyes drawn to her colored cheeks, his fingers reaching for hers 

"and maybe" he whsipered, his breath just hair from hers "maybe you need me too."


End file.
